SteelStacks to Host High School Jazz Band Showcase

The jazz bands from Freedom High School and the Lehigh Valley Charter High School for the Performing Arts are two of six finalists picked to participate in the SteelStacks High School Jazz Band Showcase.

The winner of the competition will be the opening act for the legendary Preservation Hall Jazz Band, which will perform on May 9 at the Musikfest Café for the RiverJazz Festival.

The final competition has been scheduled for 4 p.m., Sunday, March 17, also at the Musikfest Café. Each band will perform a 20-minute set before a live audience and the judges.

The event will also include performances by the Moravian College Jazz Faculty Band and SteelStacks Jazz All-Star Big Band, as well as the official awards presentation for the competition’s top soloists and sections.

The finals will also be featured on Channel 69, WFMZ-TV during a one-hour TV that will air April 6 at 8 p.m.

The SteelStacks High School Jazz Band Showcase featured 11 high school bands from Pennsylvania and New Jersey performing in two preliminary rounds Feb. 17 and March 3.

The six finalists are:

• Freedom High School Jazz Band - Director Andrew Lynn
• Lehigh Valley Charter High School Charter Arts Big Band - Director Andy Bauer
• Brandywine Heights High School Midnight Riders - Director Jason Van Voorhis
• Kutztown High School Jazz Band - Director Doug Matz
• Quakertown Community High School Jazz Ensemble - Director Frank C. Parker
• Pocono Mountain East High School Jazz Ensemble - Director Timothy Eick

Tickets for the showcase finals are $5 and on sale now at www.artsquest.org and 610-332-3378.